Grace Church, New York, 1850. (Smithsonian Open Access) Several readers commented on last week's post on finding church records , adding tips and insights that are too good not to share. My friend Barbara from Pennsylvania wrote, "Baptismal records often reveal children that were not known. I know this to be true from all the research I've done here in Pennsylvania in Catholic sacramental registers of parishes that existed long before civil records were in place. Those unknown children often died young and were 'forgotten' because families didn't discuss losing small children, no one recorded the death, cemetery records were not diligently kept, or nothing appeared in the local newspaper. If it weren't for those baptismal records, they truly would be unknown or forgotten." I was reminded by Barbara's comment that I had found the baptisms of three children I was not aware of previously in my Becker family in Catholic church records from St. ...
Folk dancers, Kolačkov—birthplace of Catharina Skapura.sup>1
31 Days of Writing Family History
Challenge
February 4, 2022: Maternal Great, Great Grandmother #3 - Catharina Skapura (Abt. 1844-1907)
by Nancy Gilbride Casey
Catharina Skapura—wife of Stephan Szimonik—and another second great grandmother, was a native of Kolačkov (ko-LATCH-ko), a small village located in the Stará Ľubovňa District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia. Kolačkov lies about 2 hours' walk from Gnazdá, where her future husband was born.
While her exact birth date is not known at present, she was born about 1844, according to her marriage record to Stephan Szimonik.2 I suspect she was baptized at the local church "Kostol sv. Michala, archanjela" or the church of "St. Michael the Archangel" in Kolačkov. Her parents may have been Jacobus Skapura and Suzanna Faix, though I am currently seeking a baptism record to confirm this.
Sometime before 1863, Catharina married Joseph Tatar, with whom she had two sons, Jacob and Joseph. Sadly, her husband Joseph died in 1871 at that age of 70—clearly, he was much older than Catharina at the time of their marriage.3
Following Joseph's death, Catharina married our ancestor Stephan Szimonik, and welcomed six more children into their family, including our great grandfather John Simonik.4
Catharina died in February 1907 in Gnazdá. 5
BONUS: Video of Kolačkov
View the video Kolačkov - Úcta k domovu (Kolačkov- Repect for Home), to get a taste of Slovak language, landscapes and culture of Kolačkov, Slovakia. While the narration is in Slovak, you'll get the gist.
The intro to the video begins...
Respect and pride in one's own village, a sincere relationship with one's homeland and strong-willed qualities characterize almost all the people in the village. The same qualities are shared by those who, for various reasons, have left their native cradle. Koláč, Kalač, Klotz, Kolačko,... Kolačkov, these are the historical names of a small village located in the north of Spiš at the entrance to the Levoča Mountains.
Kolačkov has been mentioned in written records since the second half of the 13th century. The old name of the village - Koloček - is still used in the local Highlander language. Kolačkov belongs to the southernmost Highland enclave. The village was not pledged to the Polish crown by King Sigismund of Hungary for 360 years, as neighbouring Nová Ľubovňa or the towns of Podolínec and Stará Ľubovňa. Perhaps that is why the Goral inhabitants had a different development not only in folklore, but also in dress and other activities.
The oldest building in Kolačkov is the originally Gothic Roman Catholic church of St. Michael the Archangel, built around 1300. The southernmost highlanders in Slovakia - the Kolačkovians - have always proudly claimed their Slovak origin. Spontaneity, but also attentiveness, tenacity and preservation of traditional values are their basic characteristics.
Among the old families in Kolačkov are descendants of the surnames Žoldák, Horanský, Zamiška, Dziak, Reľovský and others ... Kolačkov people are cheerful people. In 2003, at the suggestion of sisters living in Trnava, Lila and Justina of the Zamiskov family, they established a tradition of regular gatherings of natives living all over the world.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
NOTES
1 StudioD3Slovensko, "Kolackov - Ucta k domoya," (2019), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5LqFrpkqc : accessed 4 February 2022), still of folk daners.
2 Roman Catholic (Rímsko-katolícká cirkev) Stará
Ľubovňa, Gňazdá,, p. 142, marriage of Stephanus
Szimonik and Catharina Skapura; "Slovakia Church and Synagogue Books,
1592-1935," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R79-93QW
: accessed 3 February 2022), citing FHL film 004948404, image 155; Odbor
Archivnictva (The Archives of the Republic).
3FamilySearch Family Tree, Catharina Skapura
L2D9-ZBY
(https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2D9-ZBY : accessed 4
February 2022). Also: Roman Catholic (Rímsko-katolícká cirkev), Stará
Ľubovňa, Gňazdá, Liber Mortuorum Ecclesiac Parochialis Gnezdaenis, p. 109, Joseph Tatar 3 March 1871; "Slovakia Church and Synagogue Books, 1592-1935," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R79-97WW
: accessed 4 February 2022); citing FHL film 4948404, image 597; Odbor
Archivnictva (The Archives of the Republic)..
4FamilySearch Family Tree, Catharina Skapura
L2D9-ZBY.
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